BLOOD, FIRE AND STEEL 150 YEARS OF EUROPEAN HISTORY; Austro-Hungary in the mid 19th century chapter 7

 Austro-Hungary in the mid 19th Century

Austria as a power in Europe had acquired and dominated the kingdom of Hungary since the 1600s and its possessions included the territory that used to be known as Yugoslavia with Serbia under its control at a time. A series of defeats in the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte had left the country weakened after the Napoleonic wars.

Napoleon’s final defeat in 1815 gave Austria a breathing space for stability and its leading states person Prince Klemens Von Metternich came to play a dominant role in the proceedings of the Congress of Vienna that was set up to resolve the issues of territories and restorations that arose after the conclusion of the Napoleonic wars.

Austria’s lands and her influence over the Italian states were restored. However, her claim on Belgium was forbidden. The setting up of the German confederation also helped to fuel conflict between Austria and Germany. Metternich suppressed all revolutionary tendencies until the revolution of 1848 that began in France leading to the deposition of Louis Napoleon II and spread into the Austrian controlled provinces of Bohemia, Hungary and even Vienna.

The demand for constitutional reforms became so strong that it led to the resignation of Metternich, after which he fled to England. The revolts also spread to the Austrian controlled states in Italy, setting the pace for the trend of events that would cause the Italian states to unite and pave way for the emergence of the modern state of Italy.

The revolts were eventually put down by the Austrian army in 1851. The effect of the revolts and agitations for unification of Germany and Italy both under Austria’s control was to lead to weakness and decline in the state of the empire. The agitation of the Italian states for unification under the king of Sardinia led to the outbreak of war between Austria and Sardinia in 1859.

Sardinia backed by Italian and French forces defeated Austria in the ensuing war. This led to the loss of the Italian state of Lombardy as well as decline of influence over the other Italian city states. The same sequence of events was to repeat itself when the confederation of the North German states eventually came to be.

 The dispute led to the seven days war in which Austria was defeated by a coalition of German and Italian forces in 1866. This paved way for a new confederation of German states without the involvement of Austria.

This turn of events emboldened the Hungarians to demand for the privilege of equal status for the kingdom of Hungary and Austria. Under a system of dual monarchy that union would produce the new nation of Austro-Hungary between February to March 1867 when the Hungarian Parliament confirmed the Ausgleich, the union of Austria and Hungary that had been brokered by Emperor Francis 1 of Austria after Austria was expelled from the confederation of German States following its defeat by Prussia in the Austro- Prussian war of 1866.

This enabled both nations to exist under a common monarchy while retaining autonomy in their respective domains and maintaining separate internal governments. This trend saw the Slavs and other minority groups pressing for autonomy for their respective peoples and nations. The Slavs in particular pressed for autonomy concerning the province of Bosnia-Herzegovina which was a province just south of their border.

Several nationalistic and secessionist groups were thus very active in Austro-Hungary at the turn of the century. The agitations and dissensions were to be a major factor leading to the outbreak of World War I, leading to the collapse of the Hapsburg monarchy and the disintegration of the union of Austria and Hungary in the two decades following the beginning of the 20^th century.

The events in Austro-Hungary had a major impact and effect in shaping the future of Europe particularly with regards to agitations for nationalistic and ethnic rights. The emergence of new nations and a pattern of land and boundary adjustments laid an explosive mine on the path of peace in Europe for half a century well into the 20^th century.

THE SLAVE TRADE AND EUROPE

Europe in 1850 was in the midst of the agitations for the abolition of the Slave Trade. Even though most of the slaves were to be found in North and South America, collectively referred to as the New World, the nations that had the political and military might to end the transatlantic trade were predominantly in Europe, primarily; Great Britain, France, Spain and Portugal.

Although slavery in one guise or the other had flourished in Europe for centuries, by the middle of the 19^th century, most legal forms of slavery had been abolished in mainland Europe except for a few pockets in Eastern Europe stretching down to the Middle East. 

However, England played a leading role in the struggle to abolish slave trade. First was the issue of the repatriation of slaves from England which was challenged and successfully stopped in a landmark ruling by Chief Justice Granville Sharp who ruled in 1772 that James Somerset, a fugitive slave from Virginia could not be forcibly returned to the Colonies by his master.

The onus thus lay on Great Britain to lead the fight against the slave trade globally. The movement was initially led by the Quakers in England in 1783 when they presented the first important anti-slavery petition to Parliament.

This was on the heels of the move by the Pennsylvania Quakers who had voiced their opposition to slavery in 1688. In 1777 Vermont became the first of the American colonies to outlaw slavery. Another encouraging trend was the article incorporated into the United States constitution which provided that slavery could be outlawed in 20 years following the proclamation of the constitution.

Due to the effects of struggles of men like William Wilberforce, the English Parliament passed a bill outlawing slavery in England and all the colonies by 1807. Slavery was abolished in the British Caribbean colonies on July 31, 1834 when 776,000 slaves who worked in the British plantations were freed.

 Encyclopedia Britannica (2005; 293) “the British Imperial emancipation can be attributed to the growing power of the philanthropic movement and a double switch of the British Empire geographically from West (the Caribbean) to East (India) and economically from protectionism to laissez-faire”.

In a parallel reaction, the British move in 1807 to abolish slave trade impacted on the decision of the Juntas struggling for Independence in Spanish America. The slave trade was abolished in Venezuela and Mexico in 1810, in Chile in 1811 and in Argentina in 1812. In 1817, Spain signed a treaty with Britain which provided for the abolition of the slave trade in 1820; but the trade continued in the other Spanish colonies until 1880.

In America, a more tenuous struggle ensued in the effort to abolish slave trade. While in most of the northern states, slavery had been outlawed as early as 1804, it took a spiral of events from the soil movement to the conflict over slave and non-slave owning states to the civil war, emancipation by Abraham Lincoln in January 1 1863 to put a halt to slavery in the south where the institution had been booming due to the cotton trade.

 The final nail on the coffin was the constitutional amendment of 1865 which formally put an end to slavery in the United States of America. Puerto Rico put an end to slavery in 1873 and Cuba followed suit in 1880.

 Brazil was the last nation in South America to abolish the trade and even this was made possible only when the British government decided to station a squadron of the Royal Navy in Brazilian waters with power to seize any vessels carrying slaves engaging in the trade. Thus Brazil outlawed slave trade officially in 1888.

In Africa, the slave trade persisted into the 20^th century even when the continent was occupied militarily by the colonial authorities because the colonial powers came to depend on local chiefs and kings whose source of power lay primarily in a deluge of slaves left behind after the official abolition of the Transatlantic trade.

Interestingly, slavery has persisted into the 21^sth century under more elaborate and benign schemes whereby human beings continue to be trafficked as domestic servants, sex slaves or debt slaves. The practice of slavery has in no small measure, continued to haunt the industrialized West and to plague many Third World and African nations till date.

SPAIN IN THE MID 19^TH CENTURY

1850 met Spain under the reign of Queen Isabella who succeeded her father King Ferdinand who died on September 29, 1833. Isabella’s reign was marked by a great crisis began by the Carlists war which started almost as soon as she was enthroned queen.

The war was a conflict between urban liberalism and rural traditionalism, between the poorly paid and equipped regular army of the liberal governments, supporting Isabella and the semi-guerrilla forces of the Carlists.

The period was also marked by a series of (progresista) military uprisings. The Democratic Party was a leftist party that was prepared to give the monarchy support if it gave them office. On the other hand, it was ready to work for the dethronement of Isabella if she proved otherwise. By 1843, Isabella was officially declared of age to rule over Spain.

The democrats were more of an urban party, but very radical nonetheless. Their ability to court orthodox (progresista) politicians was curbed by their excesses even though they were also seen as an alternative power base.

In any case, the revolt against Isabella eventually came from a group of Generals led by Leopold O’Donnell whose grouse against the dynasty lay in their perception of it as being too rigid and conservative and thus cutting them off from influence.

The rebellion was however defeated mainly because Espartero the leader of an alternative competing power base and an army officer proved inept and incompetent in leading the revolt and was thus stopped because O’Donnell broke ranks with the group to remain with the status quo.

In 1856 O’Donnell broke ranks with Espartero and helped to suppress his supporters, and was also instrumental in dissolving the national militia, the tool of the left wing progressives. In this way, the radical movement was suppressed.

The period 1854-56 saw some economic expansion and injection of capital from French Banks, which helped to finance a new national railway network that was to help in modernizing the economy. The textile industry in Catalonia also grew as methods of wool manufacture developed.

The Basque region also saw the expansion of another segment of the economy, the iron and steel industries. Church and common lands were made available for the commercial cultivation of wheat, and cities such as Barcelona also expanded and created a market for vegetables, fruits and wines.

Spain prospered for a while as a new class of gentry and property owners emerged from the economic expansion. All these flowered in the rule of O’Donnell’s liberal union which was a coalition designed to fuse all the shades of thought into one grand union.

The unwillingness of Isabella to merge the progressive and democrats into one power base and instead sought to reign- in the influence of the progressives gave impetus to a revolution led by O’Donnell’s supporters, the military and an able general called Juan Prime whose military and political skills helped to unseat Isabella and ensue her flight to France in September 1868.

The successful revolt led to a brief period of military junta rule which was to be supported by a constitutional monarchy. The process of that move and Primes’ attempt to proffer a Hohenzollern ruler as the solution to Spain’s Royal succession issue was to lead to war between France and Prussia in 1870.

However in November 1870, Amadeus second son of Victor Emmanuel king of Italy was elected king while Prim, the king maker was assassinated the day Amadeus entered into Madrid. Amadeus’ attempt to rule as a constitutional monarch was met by opposition from both Republicans and Carlists and he could form no stable government.

Once Amadeus called the Radicals to power, the conservatives deserted the dynasty. Amadeus abdicated after an attack on the army by the radicals in February 1873. The Cortes thereafter declared Spain a Republic.

The Republic of 1873 came into existence to fill the vacuum created by Amadeus’ abdication. The party was neither strong nor united, and when the Republican leaders refused to proclaim a Federal republic, the provincial leaders revolted.

The Canton-List revolt was serious. With the army seriously depleted, the country seemed headed for disaster. The attempt of the Canton-lists to lead the upheaval strengthened the Carlists immensely.

An attempt to put pressure on the Republic by General Manuel Pavia Rodriguez de Albuquerque resulted in the Republican deputies being driven from the Cortes building with a view to creating a government of order. General Pavia handed over to General Francisco Serrano in order for him to form a coalition government.

His attempt to suppress the Carlists, now a strong force in Northern Spain failed, and on December 29 1874, a young Brigadier Arsenio Martinez Campos imposed Alfonso XII the son of Isabella on the throne.

The restored monarchy flourished for a while, allowing peace to reign. Spain enjoyed universal suffrage and continued to modernize. The country at this time began to experience challenges over her Colonial policies particularly with regards to Cuba, Puerto Rico and Hawaii in a protracted conflict with the United States government.

The battles to suppress the revolts in her overseas colonies sapped the nation, in spite of the enormous spending and sacrifices of its men. The ensuing conflict with the United States popularly known as the Spanish/American war, led to Spain’s defeat and loss of all her overseas colonies including a great naval defeat that left the nation greatly demoralized.

The late 1880s however were also a period in which agriculture, industry and the wool industry flourished. Industrial growth, investment in iron and steel surged and generally the standard of living improved. Spain developed the third largest wool industry in Europe and the general economic growth did not abate until a depression set in, in the late 1880s.

Blood, Fire and Steel; Europe and the New World CHAPTER 6

 Europe and the new World

The effect of the opening up of the new world reached its peak in the mid-19^th century when the tide of emigration to the new world increased until millions of migrants from Ireland, Western Europe and particularly Eastern Europe chose to make the journey to the new world particularly the United States.

The invention of the steamship as the main means of transport considerably reduced the time of sailing from one month with the sail ships to two weeks with the steam ship. Newer and more efficient engines continued to reduce the sailing time until the new world become accessible in about a week in the early 20^th Century.

The effect of the Industrial Revolution and the consequent boom in economic activity increased the demand for factory and agricultural workers. Both skilled and semi-skilled workers made the journey across the middle passage in droves. The migration contributed significantly to the change in demographics in Europe and the New World.

The shift was particularly noticeable among the adult male population because this was the segment of the population that was mostly affected by the exodus. This period also saw a heavy boom in the maritime trade across the Atlantic between the New World and the Old World.

The rate of industrialization in the Americas increased significantly during this period, offering better working conditions and life style improvements for many European families. In fact, by the end of the nineteenth century, the United States economy grew to become the largest economy in the world exceeding that of the United Kingdom which hitherto had been the world’s largest.

The American ‘dream’ was a major pull for emigration for many Europeans who longed for political freedom and individual rights that existed in the United States; the world’s best established democracy. In fact the struggles for democratic reform and strengthening of individual liberties in Europe were a byproduct of the successful American democratic experiment.

Starting with Great Britain, France, Germany, the Low Countries and the Scandinavia, more countries began to imbibe the democratic spirit resulting in the drafting of new constitutions, liberalization of political parties, free and fair elections and the establishment of a sovereign parliament.

The American experiment in Revolution and democracy had its biggest pull in France in the late 18^th century where a peoples’ Revolution was soon to progress to the establishment of a Republican system of government with a sovereign national assembly with elected representatives chosen by the people in free and fair elections. The idea of universal suffrage was still highly limited at this time as only adult males with properties or lands were eligible to vote.

CHAPTER 4    

MID VICTORIAN EUROPE

Europe in 1850 was also in the midst of the reign of Queen Victoria of England. The reign of Victoria also marked the period when England was at the zenith of its power with her colonies cutting across all the continents of the world. This was the time when it was said that England was the empire whose navy ruled the waves as her naval vessels straddled the seas in all the existing time zones. She was also called the empire whose sun never sets.

This happened to be also the period when the Industrial Revolution saw England at the peak of its power. The British navy was said to rule the waves, meaning England was the world’s greatest sea power. 

While the throne of England had stretched back over nine centuries, the Russian Czars similarly enjoyed a hegemony that had covered close to a thousand years. In Germany, Friedrich Wilhelm 1, was just about being crowned Emperor,  the Holy See still exerted hegemony over most of Italy, Portugal and Spain while the Habsburgs ruled over the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The Sultan still held sway over the Ottoman Empire while kings and queens ruled over the Low Countries and Scandinavia. Dynastic rule was still the order of the day while the ideas of democracy and representative government were still budding.

By this time however, the clamor for freedom, sovereign parliaments and the right to choose leaders through popular vote was still fermenting and waxing stronger by the day in Europe. The ideas of state socialism and state control of the means of wealth and production were also springing forth in the writings of Karl Max and Friedrich Engels.

As Europe prospered in the mid-19^th century, the need to expand markets and imports grew as well. The Industrial Revolution fueled a drive for raw materials to feed the industries that were coming on board. This development, invariably led to the exploitation of colonial markets as well as the expansion of trade with the new world. Maritime trade grew at this point as trade among nations became an integral part of economic policy.

Self-reliance as an economic way of life increasingly gave way to specialization and international trade. Increasingly, nations began to concentrate on goods and services that they were most (favored to produce) and learning to sell their products, obtain foreign exchange and then buy goods that their competitors had an edge in producing.

The era of specialization naturally increased trade among nations and helped to increase the overall output in terms of the gross national products of the European nations and states.

The modernization of the production system that came with the system of factory production, the advent of mass assembly, the steam ships, the specialization of skills in the individual worker, the advent of the internal combustion engine using petrol and diesel all led to a massive explosion and growth in the volume of production of goods and services and a leap in international trade and exports.

The Industrial Revolution coupled with the rise of maritime trade particularly favored the United Kingdom which had the world’s largest number of trading ships as well as warships. Great Britain’s massive investment in ship building was mainly anchored on the fact that she was an island state with a vast network of overseas holdings. The sea lanes were vital to her survival in terms of trade and in the protection of her overseas investment.

As the population of the British Isles grew, it became apparent that the United Kingdom was going to depend more on imports of grains from the New World and Canada. She also needed a secure base and sources of raw materials for her expanding industrial base. All these were sourced overseas, and so for the United Kingdom, the sea lanes came to represent a vital interest that needed to be protected at all cost.

This invariably led to a massive ship building program for maritime trade and the Royal Navy. Great Britain became the world’s most experienced maritime trading nation, with a lot of the facilities and institutions that have to do with maritime trade being based in London. The world’s biggest shipping agency and insurance company Lloyds of London was based in the United Kingdom. This also paved the way for London to become the world’s leading center of finance for international trade and services.

 London city still hosts today the world’s biggest stock exchange as well as the largest commodity exchange. The United Kingdom has become the international reference point for every form of international business that involves the movement of goods from one nation to the other.

Great Britain’s volume of trading ships and warships gave her unparalleled influence and power on the high seas and consequently among the comity of nations. Though never possessing the world’s largest and most powerful land army, Britain’s unparalleled ability to move and maneuver forces across the world’s sea lanes, made her the most powerful nation at a time when power was registered in  the ability to maintain control on the high seas.

France, the world’s second most powerful nation at sea, but with a long and exposed boundary with Germany was to face strong challenge and competition from Prussia when Prince Otto Von Bismarck took over as Chancellor. Bismarck in a series of wars united the German states under Prussia and enabled Wilhelm I to be crowned Emperor of all Germany, thereafter tension and rivalry with France mounted.

The reorganization of the Prussian military and modernization programs of Bismarck paid off when war broke out between Prussia and France in 1870. The French army was soundly beaten, Paris was temporarily occupied and Napoleon III captured. France lost Alsace Lorraine to Germany including a loss of prestige both at home and abroad.

FRANCE IN THE MID 19^TH CENTURY

The defeat of Napoleon in 1814 and the decisions reached at the Congress of Vienna opened a new chapter in the history of France as Bourbon dynastic rule resurrected with the installation of Louis Napoleon II as the new Emperor of France.

It was quite obvious that Royalist sentiments were still very strong in France and many felt that the solution to the problems of France lay in the abolition of the first Republic and return to the monarchical system of government. Consequently the ascension of Napoleon II as Emperor was hailed and welcomed by all in the French National Assembly.

It turned out however that Louis Napoleon, nephew of the French Emperor had a different character, temperament and leadership qualities from Napoleon Bonaparte. The only thing they shared in common was the family name.

The charisma and strategic military prowess that were dominant qualities of Bonaparte were completely lacking in Louis and consequently his reign was marked by instability and declining prestige for the nation and armed forces.

The series of upheavals and unrests that trailed his administration eventually led to his deposition during the insurgencies of 1848 which subsequently led to the ascension of Napoleon III.

The 1850s and 60s were also a period of acute political and social tensions as the wind of change continued to blow across Europe. The demand for political reform was particularly strong at this point as well as the agitation and clamor for better working conditions.

 As industrialization and reforms continued, there came with it, demand for greater liberalization of the political process, free and fair elections, enforcement of individual and human rights coupled with the pressure for the adoption of the Bill of Rights especially as it related to a more democratic and representative national assembly.

The working class in particular at this time became increasingly aware of its rights and privileges and began to demand for reasonable working hours, six working days, better working conditions and pay.

The writings of Karl Max and Friedrich Engels also helped to stir the working class towards a more vigorous socialist cum people’s approach towards socialism and welfare. The introduction of the welfare policies that are well entrenched in Europe today were laid down at that period.

 France in particular was inundated with socialist teachings and ideas on governance which stressed that Government is responsible to the people and must provide for its citizens. This belief has become ingrained in her economic policies till date. The French economy was transformed around this time from a purely peasant, subsistent agricultural base to a modern industrial economy that enabled France to become one of the richest nations on earth with a strong industrial and agricultural base by the end of the 19^th century.

In the years of Emile Olivier as Prime Minister, layouts of urban designs and infrastructural blue prints that made France one of the most beautiful nation in the world, was laid down. The Elyse Palace, the Eifel Tower, the Statue of Napoleon and the broad boulevards were all laid down at this period.

 The beauty of Paris and the entire country made France a much sought after country. French technological innovations also culminated in one of her companies Suez Canal Company obtaining the concession and lease to build the Suez Canal, under the army engineers Corps of Colonel Ferdinand de Lesseps in 1875.

France’s ingenuity in urban planning, municipal developments, landscaping, painting and other expressions of beautiful realities for both cities and rural places became evident at this time. Paris took her place among the most beautiful cities in the world. The French Corps of Army engineers were at this time, acquiring a distinct reputation for incredible feats in engineering and urban construction comprising bridges, roads, canals and other infrastructural works.

RUSSIA IN THE MID 19^TH CENTURY

Russia in 1850 was under the rule of Nicholas I who was both a harsh and ambitious and expansionist Czar because of his many campaigns to win land and territories for the Russian empire. He was also a zealous religious crusader who felt obliged to fight wars to protect the Russian Orthodox Church from the incursions of the Ottoman Turks.

 His victories increased Russia’s territories and made room for Russian merchants’ ships to access the Mediterranean through the straits connecting the Black sea with the Mediterranean Sea as a result of the concessions made by the Ottoman Turkish rulers of the region.

However, the Crimean war that broke out in 1853 was to mark the end of Russian expansion around the Black Sea. Russia’s defeat in the hands of the Ottoman Turkish empire (aided by Great Britain and France), forced the Russians to sign a peace treaty in Paris in 1856.

Under this treaty, Russia gave up some of the territories it had won from the Ottoman Turks in an earlier campaign as well as provisions forbidding war ships and fortifications on and around the Black Sea. Following this defeat, the Russians began to look eastward, where she won disputed territories from China in 1858 and 1860.

Through these victories, Russian gained rights to lands in China north of the Amur River and East of the Ussuri River. The rebel tribes in the Caucasian region were also defeated in a series of campaigns in 1864. Russia’s expansion in central Asia was accomplished in a series of wars fought in 1865-1875.

The defeat of Russia in the Crimean war, made her officials under Czar Alexander II realize the fact that Russia needed to catch up with the West in terms of modernization, or she will remain only a second rate power.

Alexander II then initiated a system of reforms to modernize the economy, the banking sector and Russian life in general. His reformist vision extended to land reforms among the peasants, the development of the complex railway systems that linked European Russia to Siberia.

He also modernized the educational system and granted limited autonomy to many of the rural and municipal settlements. However, the seemingly giant strides did not satisfy many who felt that the reforms in themselves were not adequate to promote social justice.

 By this time, the opposition was divided into two camps. One camp advocated for the adoption of a socialist system of government while the other wanted Russia to become a Republic with a constitution. The agitations turned violent and led to an attempted peasant revolt in 1870 that was crushed. A terrorist group soon sprang up in the wake of a new group called the anarchists whose main objective was to destroy the Russian system of government.

Alexander II survived a number of assassination attempts before he was killed in a bombing incident in St Petersburg in 1881. His son Alexander III adopted a series of harsh measures designed to curb the opposition and this policy persisted until the 1890s. He limited press freedom and kept a rein on the educational system particularly the universities and he also reduced the powers of the newly created local and rural municipal authorities.

 His policies seemed intended to favor the aristocrats when he appointed the so-called “land captains” whose mission was apparently to curtail and suppress the rights of the peasants. His series of reforms and latter- day initiatives did little to improve the working conditions of the factory and peasant agricultural workers.

When Nicholas II became Russia’s last Czar, the agitation for change in the economic and political governance of the country was to reach new heights. Several political movements and groups were founded and flourished; all with a view to overthrowing the monarchy. The socialists and the communists were the most notable, even though there were groups that argued for the adoption of western style democracy and parliamentary reforms.

Things got to a head, when after a series of bad harvests and a deterioration of living conditions, workers strikes and other protests began to rock Russia at the close of the century. As the century came to a close, the Marxists formed the Russian Social Democratic Party in 1898.

Blood, Fire and Steel, 150 Years of European History , EVENTS IN THE EARLY 19th CENTURY CHAPTER 5

EVENTS IN THE EARLY 19^th CENTURY

The wars to unseat Napoleon as the Emperor of France and to free the states and kingdoms of Europe including Russia from the grip of Napoleon marked a watershed in the historical development of the European continent. The ascension of General Napoleon Bonaparte as the leader of France in 1799 following the French revolution that began in 1978 was a defining event not only for France but for Europe as a whole.

Napoleon’s overthrow of the autocratic rule of the Jacobins in France brought the violent part of the Revolution to an end. At the head of a military government, Napoleon quickly consolidated his hold on power and brought all the instruments of state power including the media and to a large extent the Church under his rule and control. France was quiet but under the autocratic rule of a self-styled Emperor who was bent on stretching to the maximum the boundaries of his dictatorship.

After suppressing opposition and dissent at home, Napoleon began a series of engagements that brought him military victories over Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Holland, Prussia, Austria, and Italy and for a season Russia. He became the new master of Europe and found that his only undefeated rival was Great Britain, with who he remained perpetually at war.

The Napoleonic wars were a time of great conflict, tension and turmoil in Europe as his conquests touched on virtually every aspect of Europe. He sought to impose a French hegemony that made him a lot of powerful enemies. His attempts at reform and reorganization of nations and national boundaries left him with conflicts that continued to grow and escalate as more nations allied with Great Britain in the struggle to destroy Napoleon’s hegemony.

Napoleon’s string of victories covered the defeat and expulsion of the British from Toulon in 1793, defeat of a royal rebellion in Paris, October, 1795, the defeat of the Austro-Hungarian armies in Italy 1796-1797 leading to the signing of the treaty of Campo Farmio extending French territory. His campaigns in Egypt and the Middle East threatened Britain’s position in the Mediterranean.

He however lost the battle of the Nile in 1798 when his fleet was destroyed by the Royal Navy in a classic contest involving Admiral Horatio Nelson as the British fleet commander. That defeat did not stop Napoleon Bonaparte from returning to France to proclaim himself as Emperor in 1804.

In 1805 he defeated an alliance of the European powers at Austria, repeating the same feat in Jena 1806 and Fried land in 1807. His dominion over the continent became complete after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806.

His defeat however by the British in the naval battle of Trafalgar was a turning point when Viscount Horatio Nelson dashed the hopes of Napoleon in establishing France as the dominant power at sea by smashing the Franco-Spanish fleet in the famous battle of Trafalgar, October 21, 1805 where he also met his end at the hands of a French sniper while decked in full colors as Admiral of the Fleet and elegantly savoring the full measure of British victory over the French from his frigate HMS Victory.

Napoleon’s power base however began to erode with his defeat in the Peninsula wars, 1808-1814, where the British General Sir Arthur Wesley, checked Napoleon’s incursions into Portugal and Spain. Napoleon’s attempt to overcome the Russians in the war of 1812 was met by a stiff resistance led by the Russian General Mikhail I Kutuzov at a place called Borodino where Napoleon’s advance was halted outside of Moscow.

 His subsequent capture of Moscow was undermined by the tactical withdrawal of Russia’s marshal Borodino and his army from the city before its capture, the great fire set by the Russians that devastated the city and the early onset of winter that debilitated his ill-prepared army and demoralized his troops making them easy targets for the Russians guerrilla tactics that dealt fatal blows on his weakened forces occupying the Russian capital.

 His retreat in the midst of the Russian winter marked the end of the era of the French army as the dominant military power in Europe as Napoleon’s forces in the retreat dwindled from peak strength of 600,000 men to less than 10,000 fit and capable men when he entered into France.

The defeat galvanized opposition to his rule within the same nations he had subdued and occupied and lent fresh impetus to the anti-French coalition of forces opposed to Napoleon and determined to see his downfall. The coalition was led by Great Britain.

In 1813 Napoleon attempted to reassert his dominant role in Europe, but his army was defeated by a European alliance at the battle of Leipzig, October 16-19, 1813. Napoleon was forced into abdication of office in 1814 following an invasion of France by an alliance of European powers led by Great Britain

His attempt at the restoration of his rule, when he fled the island of Elba and returned to France was met by his final defeat in the battle of Waterloo in 1815 by the British, Austrian and Prussian  coalition under the  command of the Duke of Wellington, Sir Arthur Wesley. He was then exiled to the Island of St Helena where he lived until his death in 1821.

Coming closely after the defeat of Napoleon, was the Congress of Vienna, September 1814-1815, where important decisions relating to the political future of Europe were taken. The assembly of European statesmen met at Vienna, Austria to ensure that the events of the Napoleonic years did not repeat themselves in Europe.

 The Congress’s decisions were dominated by the rulers of Austria, Metternich, Russia, Tsar Alexander I and Arthur Wesley, Duke of Wellington who led the military coalition. Also prominent were Castlereagh of Britain, Von Humboldt of Prussia and Talleyrand of France.

The Congress focused a lot on territorial adjustments among the European states leading to the establishment of the German Confederation and the kingdoms of the Netherlands and Poland which was placed under Russian rule. The Italian city states gained recognition alongside the kingdoms of Sardinia and Naples. Austrian territory was extended into parts of Italy which conceded some of its territory to Prussia.

The United Kingdom was confirmed in some of its overseas colonial conquests which were recognized by the Congress. The decisions taken at the meeting were often times not a reflection of the yearnings and aspirations of the people concerned as no consultations were made with the peoples mostly concerned.

The Congress of Vienna thus re-engineered the political map of Europe which was to remain that way for the next half century. The fact that no major war was fought in Europe for the next half century gave credence to the assiduous and tactful diplomacy that was involved in crafting some of the decisions taken.

No major peace conference on Europe’s future and political boundaries was to hold until another 100 years had passed. The Napoleonic wars had so drained Europe of its strength and energies that most of the major powers channeled their strengths into resolving many of the major disputes and conflicts diplomatically.

There was no doubt, that a number of skirmishes and local conflicts rocked the continent, but none on the scale and intensity that had rocked Europe during the Napoleonic years.

One unwritten law that had emerged during and after the wars of Napoleon was that no single power would be allowed to emerge and take a stranglehold on the affairs of Europe. That policy was to be severely tested and contributed to the breaking out of two major conflicts in the early 20^th century and is still a policy thrust in Europe today.

The defeat of the French Navy by a British fleet led by Admiral Horatio Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805 paved the way for the Royal Navy to dominate the high seas for the next 100 years. Britain’s position as an island, her dependence on maritime trade for the sustenance of her local economy and maintenance of her overseas Empire necessitated the formation of a large and formidable Navy that she depended on not only for the protection of the island, but also for the protection of her maritime trade and far flung colonies.

Napoleon Bonaparte challenged Great Britain’s naval power in the battle of the Nile 1797 and the battle of Trafalgar 1805. He lost both battles leaving Britain confirmed in her position as the greatest naval power in the world. Britain’s control of the high seas enabled her to secure her many colonies and ensured that ‘the empire, whose sun never sets’, never got disgraced abroad militarily.

Britain’s naval power complemented her military strength as her ability to move armies across the high seas to far flung distant battlefields put her in a vantage position among the leading colonial powers.

 Britain’s control of the sea meant that her military could simply not be easily beaten abroad where most of her colonial holdings lay. It was thus obvious why Britain was not interested in any territorial expansions in Europe except for some Island fortresses like Gibraltar, Malta, Crete that dotted the Mediterranean Sea.

Britain’s hegemony at sea also meant that she had an edge in the extent of her colonial holdings. The British had the largest overseas empire particularly her North American colonial holdings had that included the erstwhile American colonies and Canada; a good portion of which were won over from wars with the French and the Spanish in the 18^th century in the French and Indian Wars and wars of Spanish succession.

She also had a string of island possessions that dotted the Caribbean and Western Atlantic like Jamaica, Barbados and so many others. British interest however did not extend to South America where Spanish and Portuguese explorers held sway. Her only notable possession in the South Atlantic was the Falkland Islands and the Magellan straits.

British dominion and control of the high seas was very much a source of irritation and frustration for the major European powers that had to contend with the British policy of patrolling the high seas and enforcing international laws and conventions which oftentimes she single handedly set.

 This policy often times led to conflicts and wars such as the Anglo-American war of 1812-1814 which was mainly borne out of American frustration with the British policy of search and seizure of American vessels and impressing of American sailors into the services of the Royal Navy during the tortuous and protracted Napoleonic wars which concealed the basic problem, British non recognition of the sovereign rights of the United States of America.

Britain’s naval patrols and seizure of offending ships during the period of enforcement of the ban on slave trade beginning 1807 also produced a lot of irritation. The high point in British naval imperialism came with the attempt of Britain and France to open the straits of Dardanelles forcefully during the Crimean war with Russia in 1853 when Russia closed the straits to prevent Ottoman Turkey’s warships from gaining access to the Black Sea.